Take Back My Life
by blazingbaubles
Summary: Emma has been trying to pick up the pieces of her life after her boyfriend Neal died. After a string of bad dates that she reluctantly goes on, she's either ready to re-examine her lifes choices or swear off men altogether. She meets Killian Jones in a...memorable way and what follows is a roller coaster ride of crazy. Will Emma rise to the challenge or buckle under the pressure?
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Emma has been trying to pick up the pieces of her life after her boyfriend Neal died. After a string of bad dates that she reluctantly goes on, she's either ready to re-examine her lifes choices or swear off men altogether. She meets Killian Jones in a...memorable way and what follows is a roller coaster ride of crazy. Will Emma rise to the challenge or buckle under the pressure of her ridiculously complicated life?

Rating: Eventual Mature Content

Notes: _BIG HUGE Thank you to charmingturkeysandwich (tumblr), without her I can guarantee you this would not only not be posted, but would not have happened in the first place. She's an AMAZING friend and you should go follow her._

Chapter 1

Sitting in her living room, playing a drinking game with herself called "drink until he becomes tolerable" was not how Emma Swan saw her night going. This is what she gets for believing her friends when they say things like "Oh, Emma, he's so sweet, you'll just LOVE him" and "He seems a little weird but he's just so shy." Right. These guys are single for a reason. This is the conclusion she's reached at this point.

Because, really, having to deal with Weight Loss Fanatic, Baked Goods Guy, Sock Stealer, and now, Obsessive Quoter, she's heard the message from the universe loud and clear.

* * *

She is undateable.

She guesses she SHOULD be grateful that she's at least currently on a date with a decent human being. Because even though she's about 6 glasses of wine in and essentially a walking ad for "Don't do this ladies" he's being a decent guy and making sure she's hydrated, covered, and tucked in bed before letting himself out with a "Call me tomorrow if you want to get together, Emma. I had a really good time."

Of COURSE he did. Of course. Because she held her tongue when all she really wanted to say was "WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT THE FUCK UP?!" Because, as Elsa said via text 'the characters are talking. Let them.'

Nope, she got a front row seat to the crazy 'I am going to obsessively quote V for Vendetta all night' show. Fuck. She hasn't even ever seen it! Now she doesn't want to.

This is why she doesn't date.

Her mother always says "Emma, you just have to let love in." Ok, Mom. Ok. Sure. Because that worked out so fantastic last time. Come ON.

Her mother was BIG on platitudes and general turns of phrase including, but not limited to:

 _Every cloud has a silver lining.  
Look on the bright side.  
If life gives you lemons...  
We all have to do things we don't WANT to._ (That one was a big one in her house)  
 _If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten  
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger._

Her mother was a beautiful woman with a beautiful soul, and far too much optimism. Growing up (partially-but that's a whole other story) in their house was basically a walking, talking Disney commerical. Emma left at the age of 19 with stars in her eyes and a completely naive heart. That quickly changed. _Thanks Neal!_

Her parents are basically fairytale characters though, which is probably why she stayed with Neal for so long. Hoping (there's that damn word) that endurance and love would outlast any trial. Yeah, that worked really well. Right up until he died.

She wanted Henry to have what she had. Love. Support. Stability.

But, she couldn't give Henry the life she had. There was no way. She was 19 years old when he was born. Neal was 20. Sure, they should have had it together by those ages, at least partially, but they couldn't even pay rent on time.

As much as she loved her parents, and knew they'd move heaven and earth for her, she couldn't saddle them with herself, a newborn, and Neal.

They never knew the extent of Emma's struggles. She couldn't look them in the eyes, knowing everything they did for her, and tell them that they'd raised a failure.

Neal then took a liking to drugs and girls, and the general 'unhappiness' in life came shortly after. She worked 2 jobs to try and keep them afloat, but between having to pay for bills, daycare, and food- they just weren't making it. And with Neal not working, things just got to be more difficult.

She couldn't have a checking account because he'd written too many bad checks under their joint account. He got into her purse and took money when she was sleeping, so she couldn't keep the cash anywhere readily available, and whenever she'd try and get a savings account he'd find a way to charm the tellers into believing his stories about how she was 'too busy to make it to the bank' and couldn't they 'help him out just this once?' Always with their sweet Henry in tow. That's where Elsa came in. She doesn't know where she'd have been without her those couple of years it was really bad. Elsa put her money in a checking account under her name. Paid all the bills with it. And made sure they had food and whatever else they needed. She was likely supplementing Emma's income as much as she could without her being suspicious. She's never had the courage to ask her about it.

Just when they were getting their heads above water, she'd finally gotten a raise at her job doing sales for a small loan office. They were moving from their little apartment into a house with a yard, something she was really excited for because of the way Henry's eyes lit up when he saw it the first time. She was headed out to work when she got a phone call from Neal's friend Jeff. Neal stole the bowling tournament money. $650 she had to come up with by next Wednesday. She was livid. And sick of living this shit life. She deserved better, Henry deserved better.

Not only was he a cheating man whore who didn't want anything to do with her unless she was servicing his dick, he was a thieving drug addict who never lifted a finger to help raise their son. She was fed up with it all and picking up his slack.

All she ever wanted was what her parents had. That's what she reminded herself every time she'd ever taken him back. Henry didn't deserve the back and forth, he deserved to have his dad in his life, he deserved a two parent home.

Henry deserving a 'real father' resulted in her ignoring his many indiscretions at the sake of her own sanity, self esteem and heart.

Henry deserving to have his dad in his life resulted in her NOT asking him to pay bills when he didn't want to even though she was struggling.

Henry deserving a two parent home turned into her living a miserable life, crying in her bedroom every night because she had no clue where Neal was, who he was with, or if he even cared.

She wasn't stupid. When he told her he was just going to sleep in his car at work because he got out late and would just have to drive all the way back, she didn't believe him, really. She just didn't want to fight anymore. It hurt too much to realize that he thought so little about his family and so much about his dick. She just turned a blind eye to everything he was doing and hoped that it was a phase he'd soon grow out of.

The bowling money was what led to her snapping. It was the exact amount she needed for a security deposit on the house. Hell no. She wasn't going to live there any more. She could see the light at the end of the tunnel and she feared, honestly feared, that if she lost that light she'd lose herself much worse than she already had.

She dialed the phone, furious, ready to give Neal a piece of her mind.

Voicemail. Right. Like she expected anything else. That's ok. She'd waited this long, she could wait until he finally stumbled through the door.

Of course, that stumble through the door never came. Because, his fast and loose lifestyle finally caught up with him and he fell asleep while he was driving. Left of center, failed to negotiate a curve, hit a hollow tree, flipped his (her) car and wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Instant death.

So no one can really blame her for being an enemy of love, can they?

Which is why, at this moment, she's laying in her bed wondering what even is her life. Seriously. She has to go get Henry from her parents' house and she won't be able to deal with her Mother's chipper happiness and sunny disposition when she asks how the date went. It'll go like this "Sweetheart, how did your date go? Was he wonderful?" (Yes, she is that sickeningly optimistic) And then Emma will say "Have you ever drank so much just to pass out because having conversation was painful? It went like that." and an "Oh, Emma, your walls keep out pain, but they also keep out love." And she then realizes the internal conversation she's having with herself causes her to roll her eyes and that shit hurts. She's in for a long day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary:** Emma has been trying to pick up the pieces of her life after her boyfriend Neal died. After a string of bad dates that she reluctantly goes on, she's either ready to re-examine her lifes choices or swear off men altogether. She meets Killian Jones in a...memorable way and what follows is a roller coaster ride of crazy. Will Emma rise to the challenge or buckle under the pressure of her ridiculously complicated life?

 **Rating** : Eventual Mature Content

 **Notes** : Another _BIG HUGE Thank you to charmingturkeysandwich (tumblr), this story would not be happening without her help and support! I want to give a BIG shoutout to her adorable puppy Duke, too!_

 **Chapter 2**

Killian Jones was a simple man with simple tastes.

He had but one vice in this world, and that was his coffee.

It had to be just right, and the side of right that he liked was extra sweet. So sweet that you couldn't taste the coffee but you got that wonderful kick of caffeine

Before he got that kick, he was a bit oblivious in the mornings.

So, when he stopped at the coffee shop this morning, and cut off that lovely blonde woman on the way to the counter, he didn't realize it. Had he realized it, he'd have taken notice that she had a particularly beautiful shade of green eyes. He may have even decided to chat her up a bit before taking his leave and heading to work for the day.

But he did not, in fact, notice when he cut in front of this beautiful, clearly busy woman at 8:15 on a rainy Tuesday morning

Not until she literally kicked him that is.

At first, it didn't really register in his brain. He felt a sharp pain in his shin. And then the throbbing started. He slowly looked away from this particularly interesting spot on the wall to the left of him to see a very angry blonde woman. He wasn't quite sure what was happening, so he looked all around to see who her ire was directed at. Looks like he was the lucky winner. That's likely why she apparently kicked him?

"I'm sorry lass, did you just kick me?"

If he would've had to put a comparison on the before and after of her facial expression right then, he'd have said the before was kind of cute and cuddly, and the after was decidedly not. "Why would I kick you? It's not like you came in, stumbled through the door, flung your damn rain all over me with your umbrella and cut in front of me in line."

"...I'm sorry-"

"You know what, I've had to deal with an uncooperative 7 year old, a neighbor with a dog from hell, and a slow leak in my tire this morning. Have you ever tried to put air in a tire in the middle of a rain storm? Have you ever had to get peanut butter out of a kids' hair before you've even had a chance to pee in the morning? How about have you ever had to run, in heels, down the road because your neighbor 'Norman Bates look-a-like' let Cujo out without bothering to keep him on a leash?! No? Ok. Great. Get your coffee so I can go about my day, Chief, I have things to do."

Since he was in the caffeine negative-zone, and it was an unusually befuddling morning, he wasn't really sure how to respond to such a verbal lashing at this hour. What he did notice was that she seemed to be having a bad day, and that she was bloody _gorgeous_. Sometimes, when he was in 'negative coffee zone' his mouth is a bit faster than his brain

"What are you doing later?" _Nope. Bad idea._ Her face was getting even more red ( _how is that possible?_ ) _Backtrack._

"Excuse me?!"

"Um, I like your hair?" _What? Why did that sound like a question Jones? Hurry! Change tactics._ "When you go red like that, your eyes really pop, love." _Give up. Stop. You're making it worse. Abort! Abort!_ "Though, darling, you might want to keep that under control a little better. High blood-pressure is a silent killer." _Oh for fucks sake, stop, please stop._

While he's internally hating himself, he's unable to stop the general ridiculousness coming from his mouth.

"I can see why the dog chased you!" Nothing. There's literally NOTHING he an do to save this.

"I apologize, let me buy you a coffee, please?" Maybe that?

"No." Oh. Well. I guess it was worth a shot.

"I'm sorry, what?" Yeah. He should definitely just turn around and pretend like he has amnesia or something. Maybe start walking into walls so she thinks it's a side effect of some kind of medication. Something. Anything. Literally anything but what he's currently doing.

"Look, handsome guy, I'm sure you're used to women falling all over themselves to accommodate you, especially in the mornings" she said as she smirked "but I am not one of those women. No. You know what?" She looked at her watch "I'm actually already late, thanks for a memorable morning."

She hurriedly left the coffee shop, to her credit, she did not slam the door, though he'd expected that with how exasperated she was. He'd never seen a person walk so fast this early in the morning. Perhaps she had her own coffee maker at home? He was stumped. What the hell had just happened?

Emma had been off to a stellar start for the day when this rogue British punk cut in front of her when she _desperately_ needed her coffee and she just _lost_ it.

What her mother would think of her behavior right then was not really that important at that moment.

So she did what any calm, rational, caring person would do.

She kicked him.

(This is what happens when Henry breaks the coffee pot.)

She was embarrassed. Incredibly, completely shocked at herself and embarrassed, and if she was being honest, a little bit mortified.

So, _of course_ , she acted like even more of an asshole to the poor guy.

And then he _flirts_ with her.

At first, he looked so confused. And she couldn't blame him, she was acting like a damn lunatic. His hair was sticking up all over the place, crooked tie and his laptop case was haphazardly across him. Blank stare and open mouthed at her actions.

But then, he went and opened that mouth and decided to hit on her. _Badly_. She'd almost feel bad for him if he weren't semi insulting to her with what he was saying. 'I can see why the dog chased you' what the hell was that? What did that even mean? Seriously. These kinds of guys flock to her. She's like a crazy magnet. Gorgeous guy, clearly serious issues.

She did almost turn around, though. She did kick him, after all. It wasn't his fault her morning went from shit to shittier. But what are the chances she'd ever see the guy again? And she was running late. So she'd just have to take whatever karmic shit came her way for that little act of insanity.

This is her life. These are her choices. She really should hire a life coach. Her luck Ruby and Elsa would apply, God knows they've been waiting for _years_ to do so. She'll just keep this little _interaction_ to herself. It's better that way, really.

She goes about her day, dealing with her paperwork and all the general fun that comes with her job. She really was just living the dream. Spending the whole day looking forward to-a.)getting Henry from daycare to squish his seven year old face because she misses him and b.)dealing with the inevitable tantrum because she has to go buy a new coffee pot after work.

They're on their way home when her mother calls her a little bit frantic, which is weird. Sunshine literally spills out of every pore of her mothers body 24/7/365 and if she's acting frantic something is definitely wrong.

"Emma, sweetheart, what are you guys doing right now?" her mother asked in a way that made her forced chipperness obvious to Emma, she could barely hear the shake in her voice, but it was there.

"I'm driving home from the store, is everything ok? You sound upset, Mom."

"We're fine. I do need you to come over though, can you do that?"

"Sure, we'll be there in 10. Are you sure you're ok?"

"Of course, I love you."

"Love you too." she hung up the phone and set it on the passenger seat.

Well, that officially makes her want to throw up. She can count on one hand the amount of times her mother has sounded upset. All the things that make her upset are BAD things. Her Grandparents passing away, Emma calling her about Neal, Henry being in the hospital with a bad bout of the flu. Never small things. Small things don't shake her unshakable mother.

She mulls over possibilities and worries herself sick the entire drive. All while making sure Henry is distracted by the radio. Yes, Adam Levine distracts her too, just for a different reason.

She pulls in the driveway and can barely pull it together, but reminds herself to be patient with Henry at the moment. No matter what she's feeling she can't let him know something is up. Poor kiddo has been through enough.

She ushers Henry through the door, reminds him to take off his shoes and he runs to the living room to go watch TV with Grandpa. Now that that is taken care of, she can go find her mother and see what has her so upset.

"Mom?"

"In here!" she calls from her bedroom.

Emma walks in and sees her mother sitting on the bed with an envelope in her hands. It's thick, and it looks official.

"Emma, this came for you." She says nervously "I need to tell you something before you open it."

"Mom, you're really beginning to freak me out, what the hell is that?"

"I don't know. The sheriff delivered it. I didn't know what it was, they just asked if I knew you. I panicked and all I could think was something happened to you and Henry, so I said yes. He asked me to sign something and then gave me this and left. When I asked him what it was he said it was a certified letter from a law office."

"You don't sound surprised," Emma paused, eyeing her "what are you hiding from me, Mom?" Emma was really beginning to get frustrated. For all her mothers wonderfulness, she did take her sweet time getting to the point. And what the hell even was her point with this?

"There was a man, he came to our house a few weeks ago asking about you. Asking about Neal. Henry. Your father threw him out of our yard, but he just kept coming back. He said he was Neal's father."

Well that was a punch to the gut. She sat down next to her Mom on the bed and tried to process what she'd just heard. Her mom automatically pulled her onto her shoulder. As if she could pull the pain from Emma's body just by holding her close.

Neal had no father, so he said. She'd been with him for 9 years, and she'd never heard any mention of the man other than a passing 'he knocked my Mom up and split before my testicles descended' (classy- on both counts).

"Ok, so, why does that matter? Don't get me wrong, I'm pissed that Neal kept it from me, but it doesn't surprise me. He kept a lot from me." Something wasn't matching up here. Her mother was seriously losing it. As much as she was trying to hold it together, Emma could tell.

"I know, but Emma, it's Robert Gold." Her mother said it so soft she thought she may not have heard it right at first.

"Robert Gold, high powered, never lost a case lawyer, Robert Gold?" Unbelievable.

She looked at Emma with tears in her eyes "Yes."

Fan-fucking-tastic. She better get it over with and see what's in the envelope.

The Offices of Gold, French, and Mills

Dear Ms. Swan,

This letter is to infom you that our client Robert J Gold is formally requesting companionship time with minor child Henry David Swan as paternal grandfather. Please contact our office regarding arrangments. If you wish to deny Mr. Gold companionship time with the minor child, be advised we will be exploring other avenues to assist in this matter.

Belle French, Attorney at Law

The breath left her lungs. This had to be a joke. This _had_ to be a joke, it just had to be. She couldn't believe this. No one is going to take this seriously, are they? She's Henry's mother. There was no way in hell she was going to let her son go see a man he didn't even know, just because he was biologically related. Where the hell was he these past 7 years? Hell, where was he Neal's entire life? She had so many questions and not enough answers, or reference to even know where to start to _find_ answers. She's totally blindsided right now and if she's being honest, a little pissed at her mom for it.

She knew about this and didn't tell her. She kept this from her and it took her legs out from under her. Where does she even go from here? What the hell can she do? And why on earth is this man doing this to her? He doesn't even know her or Henry. He likely barely, if at all, knew Neal. God, what was she going to do? Where does she even start?

After sitting there, completely disoriented for about five minutes, her mother spoke.

"Honey, I am so sorry. I didn't think he'd do anything. I didn't even know what his plans were. We didn't tell him anything. We just didn't want to add any more stress to your life." Of course she didn't. She took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before responding.

"I know, Mom. I have to be honest, I'm a little upset with you for not telling me. But I know you and Dad would never do anything to hurt me or Henry. What am I going to do about this? Mom, I don't know what to do. This scares me. This is a big time lawyer. Have you seen the ads? They call him the Dark One. Never lost a case... What the hell does this all mean? Henry doesn't know this guy. What if he does something and it ends up hurting Henry in some way? Where did he come from? Why am I only hearing from him now? Neal died over 2 years ago. I'm honestly a little scared." She was on the verge of hyperventilating and her fingers felt a little tingly. She needed to stand up and get moving or she was going to pass out.

"Emma, I know that it looks scary. How much can he possibly want? Maybe you should contact them, see what his intentions are. Go from there. Maybe he just wants to meet Henry and then he'll leave you alone. You don't know if you don't face it. It could be completely harmless."

"If it were completely harmless, you'd have told me about it. No. I don't think this is harmless. The tone of the letter is demanding. Like they've already decided my answer (and they'd be correct) and they're preparing to take me to court." She was pacing around her parents' bedroom like a caged animal. She felt like one right now. She had a bad feeling about all of this. Why couldn't she get a break? It's not like her life isn't shitty enough to begin with. Add this and stir and you have a complete shit show going on. She needed to get a hold of herself. Henry was in the other room.

"Ok, Mom, I'm gonna scream into this" she holds up a pillow "please close the door. When I'm done, we will go out there, have dinner because I'm starving, and deal with this tomorrow while Henry is at school. I'm taking the day off." She held the pillow to her face (you gotta do what you gotta do, right?) and screamed into it for a few seconds. Took a deep breath. Smiled a shaky smile at her mother and opened the door.

"Show time." As she walked through the door her mother put her hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.

"We'll get through this."

God, she sure as hell hoped so. Henry was her life. This needed to not be an issue at all.

She can't worry about it anymore until the morning, or at least until Henry was tucked safe and sound in his dinosaur bed.

What the _fuck_ even is her life.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you AGAIN to my wonderfully amazing friend Keisha (charmingturkeysandwich on tumblr) for helping make this story a possibility!_

 **Chapter 3**

Emma woke up and went about her morning as normally as she could when she was up until 2:30-ish worrying about the stupid damn letter and any insane amount of scenarios that could happen.

Her all time favorite was the one where Robert Gold broke into her house with a tranquilizer gun to steal Henry in the dead of night. So she, of course, set the house alarm. Only to then wonder if he possibly was already staring in her windows from a nearby bush with super binoculars and saw her type in the code. So she installed a sliding lock. Yes, she installed a sliding fucking lock in her door at one in the morning.

Thinking she was finally safe to sleep, she crawled in her bed and laid there for a few minutes. Then there was a creak. Then a bang. Her logical, daytime mind would have reminded her it was an old house, and that the heat was just kicking on.

Nightime Emma is not so logical.

She crept upstairs, fearing the worst, with her heart in her throat. When she walked slowly and cautiously into Henry's room, she saw him sleeping safe and sound in his bed. He was just so sweet. His face was still a little chubby from his recent growth spurt, his cheeks a little red (she should probably adjust the heat) and he was clutching his newest bear from Grandpa.

She needed to get a grip. Whatever this letter meant, whatever he could do, meant nothing if she didn't continue to be the mom Henry needed. She needed to be healthy, happy, able to function...

After getting her fill of his chest rising and falling to ease her mind. She went down to her bed and was finally able to sleep.

So, it's no surprise that she's running late in getting ready. Henry, of course, was taken care of first. Breakfast (a bowl of cereal), teeth brushed, outfit (' _clean underwear and socks_ ' she reminded him), coat, hat, scarf, gloves, boots, shoes in bookbag, bookbag on back, vitamins, and oh god she really hoped she wasn't forgetting anything. She threw on the first semi matching outfit she found and grabbed a granola bar and her purse and ran out the door with Henry trailing behind her.

"Is today going to be a Mommy day after school? I like Mommy days." his high pitched little voice said from the back seat. "I'm going to build a rocket today in class. My teacher said that my rough draft of the rocket was really good! I think i'm going to change it from red to blue though, do you think that's a good idea, Mommy?" He chattered in the back seat without really waiting for an answer but Emma smiled and nodded along, oohing and ahhing at what he was saying.

"Mommy are you tired today?" this kid didn't miss a beat. She figured honesty was best right now. He always knew when she wasn't exactly telling the truth, and she wanted to make sure he grew up learning to actually tell the truth. She'd be damned if he turned out anything like his father in that regard.

"I am a little bit, sweetheart, but i'll be ok once I get some coffee in me. I'm really excited to hear about how your rocket turns out. Do you know what would be so cool on the blue? Yellow stars!"

Henry seemed pacified with that and continued to talk back and forth with her until she dropped him off at the school with a quick kiss ' _Mom_ , my friends could see!' and hug before walking back to the car.

Once she got to the car she took a deep breath (guess that was her thing now. Deep breathing. Stupid.) and started the engine. She needed to go home and figure out where to start with all this mess. She was willing to see what Gold had to say, but she sure as hell wasn't going in there without representation. She knew nothing about law, but she knew that much.

She didn't even know anyone that ever needed a lawyer for such things, so she wasn't sure where to start. She figured she'd likely need a lawyer that specialized in family and juvenile law, because Law and Order taught her that much, but did they advertise like that? Google would be more helpful. Google and coffee.

She decided _against_ going to the scene where she kicked that British guy yesterday. Was it only 24 hours ago? Feels like a lifetime.

Once she had a bearable amount of caffeine in her system, she sat down at her laptop and googled away.

'Family Law Office Storybrook Maine'

Three offices popped up

Nova Starr (what the hell was this, a fairytale?)

Leroy Martin (sounds like a drunk)

Jones, Loxley and Mills (pfft)

Well, she can basically scratch that last one. Mills. Probably related to the Mills of Gold, French and Mills and _hell no_.

She wrote down the numbers to the first two, decided she was being a judgemental asshole, and finally wrote down the third. She couldn't really afford to be picky right now, and she needed to have options.

She called and set up consultations for 12:00, 2:00 and 5:00, wanting to make sure with wait time, consult time, and drive time, she could speak to each one today. Better to get this over with and rolling.

She called her Dad to see if he could pick Henry up from daycare and he thankfully was getting off his shift early today anyway. Her parents are amazing.

After everything was said and done, she had about half an hour to get ready before she had to be to Ms. Starr's office so she brushed her hair, threw some light makeup on, and made sure she wasn't covered in some kind of kid gunk somewhere. She grabbed the letter and made her way to the first office.

To say Attorney Starr was sweet was an understatment. She was a puppy. An adorable little puppy. She talked about mediation and peace and how wonderful it was that Henry's grandfather was reaching out. Yeah. Wonderful. She kept saying how great it was that Henry was so loved that so many wanted to spend time with him.

That's all well and good, but Emma could not, for the life of her, get the woman to understand that he'd never met Henry. Let alone have any feelings towards him whatsoever. Of course he was awesome, he was a great kid. Anyone he met and created a relationship with would be lucky to have him. The problem was she couldn't get this guys angle, and she wasn't willing to send the human equivalent of a giant happy puppy into whatever horror show this guy created. Nope.

Sighing heavily, hoping the next one is better, she got in her car and headed to see Leroy Martin. She probably should have gotten lunch on the way there, but she was hoping to have time to grab something real quick after.

After she left that particular office 2 hours and 37 minutes later (just enough time to make it to her last consultation) she kind of just sat in her car for five minutes and wondered what the _hell had just happened_.

She met with Leroy Martin after waiting in his waiting room for 48 minutes. Which was fine, she made the appointments for the times she did because she wanted to make sure if this happened, she was prepared.

The first thing he said to her, the first damn thing, was 'So sister, what was it? Drugs? Prostituiton? Bad boyfriend? I need to know what we're working with here if we have to go to court.' And it essentially escaltated to him somehow talking about a case he took a while back where a woman worshipped cats and refused to let her kids go to school and got them taken away, but it was ok in the end because she was happier with just the cats. There was also something about a hooker living in the basement and making meth in there, but she honestly just tuned it all out after a while.

She really needed to look into moving somewhere else. Clearly this town was insane. As were most of the people in it.

She hadn't even got to talk to him about her case. She just nodded for a while and let him spin his wheels for a bit.

She deflated when she got in her car. What an absolutely horrible meeting that was. She was putting all her eggs in this last basket. If they weren't what she needed, she could branch out a bit, sure, but she really didn't want to have to travel back and forth with her schedule for meetings. She knew Gold came from a bigger town about 35 minutes away, but the further she kept from _that_ area, the better.

She mused on what she'd be walking into with this next law office. Her luck there would be a greasy middle aged man that hit on her in this next office. Because she had the _best_ luck lately it seemed.

S _eriously though, the cosmic shit show can come to a halt now, please and thanks._

She pulled into the parking lot and noticed that this office was a lot more well kept than the other two she'd been to. There was nice landscaping all around, the building was very non-imposing, quaint but not small. It was a perfect location, kind of set away from the rest of the town. Dense trees lined one side and you could see the beach from the other angle. It calmed her immediately.

She walked up to the building and braced herself for another onslaught of insanity (seriously though, crazy magnet, all areas in life) just in case and opened the door.

When she got inside there was a tiny red headed woman sitting behind a counter. She brightened immediately and greeted her.

"You must be Ms. Swan! I'm sorry, but Mr. Loxley got called away for an emergecy this afternoon, but another associate is going to meet with you and get all your pertinent information to him. Answer any questions you may have, that sort of thing. He wanted me to assure you that only things of the utmost importance (he means his son you know) take precedence over clients. He's a widower and he has a little boy. While it's rarely an issue, things do come up from time to time and that, sadly, just can't be avoided. If you'll take a seat for a moment I'll buzz them and let them know you're here."

So she was an over-sharer. She seemed sweet, but for the love of God, she didn't think the redhead took a breath in that whole exchange. Emma wondered if she'd even realized that she hadn't said a single word in that entire time. Not even a hello. She figured if she wanted a chance to at least speak she'd manage a 'hello' but before she knew it she heard a smooth British voice behind her say "No need, Ariel, I've just gotten off the call and was coming up to see if Ms. Swan had arrived yet." He then started to walk around Emma, and she knew exactly who he was before she even saw his face. "Good afternoon, Ms. Swan, I'm Killian Jones and i'll be filling in for-YOU!"

Oh, so he remembered her too. Good. Good. She managed a meek "Hi." before getting ready to leave the office. Of course. This is her life, after all, why wouldn't the universe see fit to blow up in her face once again? She had almost made it to the door when he spoke again.

"Now, this will be the second time in as many days that you've walked out of a place without letting me get so much as a coherent thought out. Ms. Swan, please, let's go to my office. We can discuss your case there. Robin talked with you this morning over the phone and told me about your case before he left. He feels very strongly that we should take it, but I do need to sit and ask you a few questions. If you'd be so obliged? I can assure you, I am able to be a professional."

Emma blinked. He seemed much...different...than the man she kicked at the coffee shop. The mortification washed over her once again. Oh god, she kicked a lawyer. He was probably going to take her back there to tell her he was going to sue her. She was going to go to jail. Isn't that what they did with people who got sued and didn't have any money? Did they go to jail? What will happen to Henry when she goes to jail? God, what will happen to her parents. They'll be so upset. All because she acted like an impulsive, moronic, self centered-.

"Ms. Swan." he interrupted her train of thought before it completely derailed and took her to crazy town. "Please, I can see you're stressed. I know you need help, I would like very much to not discuss this in our lobby, but if you'd feel more comfortable doing so..."

"No. I'm sorry. Just internally freaking out." Did she seriously just say that? Why? Great, now he knew she was a lunatic on top of everything else. Well, honestly, if he didn't think it before with the whole kick and dash with a side of bitchiness thing then he was a little loco himself.

"No need to 'internally freak out' as you said. Water under the bridge. Please, follow me."

As she followed him down the short corridor she noticed the office was lined with photographs of local landmarks. The beach, the lighthouse, a ship (yacht? Boat? She never knew the difference between all those) some artsy shots of the woods, a nearby stable her father used to take her to when she was a preteen.

All too soon, they reached his office. He opened the door and gestured for her to go ahead of him. "Go ahead and take a seat Ms. Swan." He walked past her and around his desk. It was large and made of a dark wood, seemed very imposing, yet comforting. Despite the awkward situation they were currently in, she was oddly at ease. Maybe he was into that fung shei or something?

"Ok, Ms. Swan-"

"Emma, please, call me Emma. Ms. Swan is just so formal. Makes me feel old."

"Only if you'll call me Killian." He said with a kind smile. "Now, Emma, why don't you tell me why you're here. I know you gave Robin some information over the phone, but I'd like to know we're on the same page here so I can properly gauge the situation."

"Well, a letter came to my parents' house for me, from Robert Gold... He claims he's my sons grandfather. He has never met Henry or myself, and from what Henry's father told me he didn't raise him either. Neal passed away a little over two years ago, and now it seems that Mr. Gold wants 'companionship time' with my child. I brought the letter if you'd like to see it?"

"Please." She hands over the letter and watches his expression as he reads. He looks at it with what can only be described as detached curiousity at first, then his expression darkens "he's trying to scare you."

"Why though, I just don't get it? He was hanging around my parents house for a while and always trying to talk to them, but from what I gather he wasn't being very threatening. Just a nuisance, really. Not leaving, like an annoyance type thing. I didn't even know anything about it until the letter came. And he had nothing to do with us at any point before now, so I guess I just don't get it?"

His face kept its dark demeanor, but she could tell it was more towards her situation than her "Gold doesn't normally have reasons other than to make others' lives hell... Tell me, this Neal, Henry's father-did he ever give you any reason to believe he wasn't entirely truthful?"

That's a Russian doll of issues that she's not entirely sure she should get into right now, but she supposes she needs to be truthful if this is ever going to get resolved. And she does need his help. Or his associates. Whatever.

"Ok, so, to be completely honest... He was not the best. He cheated, did drugs, and constantly lied. When he wasn't doing those things, he was bleeding us dry financially. He barely held down a job, took my money constantly and I couldn't trust him alone with Henry. I met Neal in college and he basically tricked me into thinking he was a good guy. He took me on dates, held open doors, the usual stuff. After I found out I was pregnant with Henry, he kind of shifted his attitude. It became him always accusing me of being crazy and saying I was letting this baby get to my head. I don't really know why I stayed with him, but it didn't start off all those things. It gradually turned into my own special brand of hell. Don't get me wrong, I did love him, but I think I loved more who I thought he was, rather than who he actually was." She felt a little awkward after that all came spilling out, and looked to her lap. She had to consciously remind herself to keep her hands steady.

"I'm very sorry you had to deal with that." He said kindly, no pity lacing his words, more like a bit of pride. "You seem to have done well for yourself in not taking such behavior any longer, that's a good thing." He winked at her and gestured for her to continue. "Is there anything else?"

"Towards the end of his life he would disappear for days at a time. He'd claim he was working, despite the fact that he normally didn't have any money. I just assumed he was doing drugs or women and at that point I didn't care. I was just happy we had some kind of stability. Knowing he'd never be there. Every time I told him to leave he'd just end up coming back. He didn't really care about much besides himself. He did love Henry, but he acted more like a buddy to him. There were good times, they were mostly when I could get him off drugs and away from his friends long enough that he was finally becoming a little clear headed. I think that, for a while, I saw the good times as hope for what the future could be, not the exception rather than the rule." She felt like she was just dumping all this on this poor guy that she assaulted the day before, but once it was out there, there was no stopping it.

She felt like she had to explain why she wasn't a terrible mother to her son. That she was doint the best she could. Then and now. How do you explain to a total stranger that you loved a man that hurt you so bad in life and then in death? How do you reconcile the two things. If she wrote it all on paper no sense would be made of it all. That's just the way it went for years. She loved who she thought Neal was, the possibility of what he could be. He exploited that, made her life hell, and didn't really seem to care. Then he died, and all that future went down the drain. She mourned for her son, she mourned for her dream, and she mourned for the effort she put into things and the time she now felt was wasted. It was messy and confusing and she could barely make sense of it herself, let alone explain it to someone else.

"I don't feel like i'm explaining this too well." She said anxiously. "He wasn't the anti christ, he wasn't always a bad guy. He just made some really awful decisions. And now all this is coming up and I honestly don't know which way is up right now, but I feel so betrayed. Because even in death things that are tied to him are haunting me. I just don't really want to deal with it. I know I have to, but it's really overwhelming to me right now."

"No, i'm getting a very good idea as to what you're describing. We all have our demons now, dont we?" He said quickly and then added "Of course, I do have to say i'm surprised you came out of that so well. Not many have such strength of spirit. I've seen many fail to come out of such a situation relatively unscathed. So I guess the main question here, is how Gold even comes into play? And why?"

"I wish I had any idea at all. I really do. As I said before, to hear Neal tell it, he didn't even have a father. So as far as I know, he didn't even know who Neal was. I'm willing to meet with him to find all this out, but I didn't want to go without legal counsel. Do you think your office can help me?" She didn't mean for it to come out so desperate, but let's face it. She was.

"A wise decision, and I believe very much that Robin will be able to help. I, unfortunately, am more geared towards DUI's and bankruptcies, or I'd take the case myself. I believe I have enough information for Robin to get a good idea of the situation." He shuffled the papers on his desk around and added a few more notes to the pages in front of him. "I don't really have any questions for you at this point. We just need a broad view of what we have going on here. Is there anything at all you wanted to add?" He cocked his eyebrow and stared straight at her.

"I'msorryikickedyouyesterdaypleasedon'tsueme." came out in a jumbled rush as her face turned beat red, this time from embarrassment rather than anger. She heard his chuckle and lifted her head to look at him again.

"Well, why I thank you for your apology, and must say that I accept. I was asking if there's anything else you'd like to add about the case." He said with a smirk that she simultaneously wished she could slap off and just stare at. Because she wasn't blind and noticed that he was probably the hottest man she'd ever seen up close. He was movie star hot. Scratch that. TV show hot. His face was one you'd want to see week after week. Before she let herself get carried away she responded with a quick "No, I think you've got everything you need."

She really hoped he couldn't tell by her facial expression that she was attracted to him. Awkward. For a bunch of different reasons. Even if he did, it wouldn't matter. The odds she'd see him after this were incredibly small. He spoke again as she was standing up to leave.

"Ah, lass, one more thing. I need a phone number for you."

While she thought it odd they didn't grab it before when she called, she gave it to him anyway and shifted her purse on her should, ready to shake his hand and say her goodbye.

"It was lovely meeting you, Emma. I do hope Robin can take care of this for you quickly." He handed her two business cards. "Robin will surely call you tomorrow or as soon as he's able to discuss when you can meet and finances and the like. Here's his card." He waited a beat before adding "I know you are a busy woman, and have a lot going on at the moment, but I included my card as well. My cell is on it. If you'd like to get together some time, i'd be honored. No pressure, I just couldn't belive the angry blonde angel stormed out of my life before i'd even been given a chance. I wasn't letting that happen again." He kissed her hand and opened the door for her, watching her walk down the corridor and to the lobby.

She didn't really know what to do other than blush and keep her face forward as she left. Only slightly turning her head to the right to say a quick goodbye to Ariel. She power walked to the car and opened the door to quickly get inside. Only then did she flip over his business card to see his elegant script with his phone number and a short note.

 _I quite fancy you when you're not yelling at me._

 _Give me a call._

 _K Jones_

How he fit all that so elegantly on a business card she'd never know. But smiled before she caught herself and shifted out of park into drive.

Her life was so fucking weird.

She was definitely calling him though.


End file.
